Bejeweled has
finally hit the iPad in an HD form and Bejeweled fans can rejoice.
None of the magic is lost, and with the extra precision controls
that come with touch, it is in the most accessible form yet. It’s
amazing to think that Bejeweled has been with us for over a decade.
That’s not to say that shape matching started with Bejeweled,
because when you think of it, Tetris is approaching its third decade
of existence.

For the uninitiated,
Bejeweled is similar to Tetris. The screen starts full of gems and
you need to swap gems around with its neighbours to match 3 or more
gems in a row. This is accomplished by swiping your finger over the
gems you would like to swap. The matched gems disappear and more
gems tumble down from above. Matching several in a row reveals more
powerful gems that when matched, destroy whole areas or even lines.

There are several
modes available. There’s the classic mode which basically has you
matching gems continuously and you trying to achieve the highest
score possible. Butterflies mode has these colourful winged-moths
flying higher after every turn. You need to match them before they
hit the top. Diamond mine has brown earth layers pushing up the
screen each level and these mine layers need to be destroyed by
matching gems next to them.

And then comes the
quirkiness mode of them all : Zen – a continuous mode where you can
select relaxing music and sounds to listen to as well as onscreen
affirmation mantras to appear regularly. You can even turn on a
breathing modulator to help slow your breathing. Explosions and
gravity are made mellower, other subconscious elements are also
present and the whole thing is designed to relax you. I found the
Zen mode relaxing, to a point, but it is hard to relax when you are
busy trying to find that elusive matching gem.

Each mode also has
achievements, in the form of badges to collect and I am sure that
there are many obsessive-compulsive Bejeweled players out there who
will attempt to collect each and every one. (Even after hours and
hours of gameplay, I’ve only managed to collect around half of the
badges). Bejeweled HD is the definitive Bejeweled version to date
due to the intuitive controls and exta modes. It still has all the
gem-matching goodness that will appease existing Bejeweled fans.
There is no doubt that the iPad version will entice a new legion of
fans to have just “one more game”.